FIFA Women’s World Cup: The shockingly low price Seven paid for rights to the sporting event revealed after it shattered TV ratings records

It was the biggest thing on Australian television in decades.

And now it’s been revealed that Channel Seven paid just over $4million for the broadcast rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

The competition featuring the Matildas’ courageous bid for the prized silverware was a ratings blockbuster for Seven, who purchased a mere 15 games from pay TV streamer Optus Sport.

The Australian Business Review reported on Saturday that Seven scored the ‘deal of the century’ for their FIFA rights, with the Matildas v Sweden clash becoming the most watch TV event since Cathy Freeman’s Olympic sprint in 2000.

An average total audience of 7.1million viewers tuned in to see the Matildas fall to Sweden, 2 – 0.

The competition featuring the Matildas courageous bid for the prized silverware was a ratings blockbuster for Seven, who purchased a mere 15 games from pay TV streamer Optus Sport

Seven reputedly scored the ‘deal of the century’ for their FIFA rights, with the Matildas v Sweden clash becoming the most watch TV event since Cathy Freeman’s Olympic sprint in 2000 Pictured: The Spanish team celebrate their World Cup Win

This includes catch-up service BVOD, which drew 958,000 fans alone. 

Meanwhile, the game drew a whopping 4.54million viewers across the country’s five capital cities, an all-time record since OzTam was introduced in 2001.

According to OzTam figures only the Matildas friendly game with France was a relative disappoint managing 299,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, the Matildas five other games with Ireland, Nigeria, Canada, Denmark and France before their heartbreaking knock-out pulled in a collective audience of over 14million viewers according to the OzTam ratings.

Those figures do not reflect fans watching in public places or viewers who watched the match on Optus Sport. 

Seven’s own figures claim that the tournament was watched by 18.6million fans, with 14.76million reached on the main channel and 3.82million on 7plus.

Sunday’s final which saw England trumped by Spain 1-0 was viewed by 5.54million

The Matildas five games with Ireland, Nigeria, Canada, Denmark and France before their heartbreaking knock-out pulled in a collective audience of over 14million viewers for Seven according to the OzTam ratings Pictured: The Matildas Courtnee Vine (left) and her girl friend Charlotte Mclean (right)

Cathy Freeman’s iconic 400-metre final at the Sydney Olympics reportedly attracted a record 8.8 million viewers, although OZTam data was not tracked in 2000. 

According to the report, insiders have revealed that it was Channel Seven executive Renee Quirk who was responsible for stitching up the deal that gave the network a triumphant 45 per cent of the available audience last week.

Quirk, who is head of sports business affairs and sport general counsel, told the network’s top management that thy would ‘regret’ missing out on the FIFA World Cup, predicting the competition would ‘really go off’.

Seven’s massive audience last week was the biggest TV viewership in Australia since 2021’s Tokyo Olympics , which averaged a whopping 49.8 per cent of the available audience.

The Australian’s Diary reports that insiders claim that it was Seven’s head of sports business affairs and sport general counsel Renee Quirk – pictured – who urged the network to make the lucrative FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 deal